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I'm back!!!
12 years ago
I went to Italy!!! IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE.
I can't believe I actually went to Italy! I've never been to another country before, especially one so far away, so this was brand new for me, and kind of scary. But it was so worth it! My parents and I went on an 11 day bus tour though Italy, staying in Rome, Florence, Parma, Bologna, and Venice. The nice thing about booking a bus tour was we didn't have to worry about ANYTHING. Hotels, sight seeing, transportation, tours through places, restaurants, luggage, etc. They took care of everything, so all we had to do was enjoy the trip. -)
Getting there was a pain though. We were supposed to fly from Omaha to Chicago, to Frankfurt, then to Rome. And we were supposed to leave on the 12th (if I remember right). Our actual tour started on the 16th, so those few days before was another short tour to the Pompeii that we planned. Well.......nope.
We got to the airport in Omaha on the 11th, around noon and the first thing we find out was that our flight as cancelled. :| So they put us on a different flight that would leave around 5:00 pm. So we waited. But then weather settled into Chicago, therefore canceling our 5:00 flight. Then our rebooked 7:00 flight. So we didn't leave that day.
So it was like 10:00 pm and we're talking to the ticket counter guy (he was no help) and he said the next flight we found get was on the 15th.....>:( So we had to cancel our Pompeii tour. :(
We finally made it to Rome on the 15th, after about 28 hours of airport time. That night, I realized that in around 48 hours, I had slept only 6 hours (I don't sleep we'll on airplanes).
We spent 3 days in Rome. We saw the Vatican, which was unbelievable! Hahaha, our travel director got us reservations for the Vatican, so when there was a line 12 blocks long, we got to go in first. There's a crazy amount of people in that waiting line!
We also saw the Colosseum. It's incredible to think that over 2000 years ago, Romans were using it like we use our sport stadiums.
Rome was great, but it's a big city. So that means lots of small spaces and too many people.
Then we drove to Florence. We actually stayed in Sienna, but drove to Florence each day. We stayed for 3 days. Our hotel in Sienna was an old hospital in an ancient castle!!!!!!
We toured a winery and tasted wine. I'm 16, so I'm old enough to drink wine over there, but only two glasses at a meal, and if my parents are there. But I have to say, I hate wine. Altogether, throughout the whole trip, I only drank about a half of a glass :/ It's like coffee, just worse. Oh! And I drank espresso too! I hate that too. The only way I'd drink it is if it has like literally 10 sugar packets and half milk. But then there's too much sugar, and it become kind of a sugary mud-like thing, and yeah...... Apparently espresso has the equivalent of like 3 cups of coffee....I don't know.
We ate food. Lots of food. Mainly pasta, fish, and pizza. And every single place we want to had amazing food!
We also ate at an Italian family's home! That was the best part of the whole trip!
Then we drove to Parma. One night. We stopped at Pisa on the way there. I ate pasta. It was awesome.
That night, we went to a place called San Gimingnano, an ancient castle!!!! That was the second best part of the trip! I love medieval things, so visiting a castle, and staying in a castle, was the most amazing thing!
Then to Bologna. One night. I have to say, this was my lease favorite part of our trip. But it was interesting to learn about the city.
Then we finished in Venice. We stayed in a 400 year old hotel for 2 days.
We took a gondola ride though the canals and the Grand Canal! That was so cool!
I had my first taste of American food at the Hard Rock Cafe in Venice. French fries.....;)
We took a water taxi to one of the islands and ate lunch at an amazing restaurant. The houses on that island are the brightest colors! Lime green, pink, sky blue, any color you can think of!
Then we had our farewell dinner, the last dinner on the last night, at a restaurant next door to the hotel. It was great! Fish and pasta!!!
Then yesterday, we flew out of the Venice airport. We flew to Munich, then to Chicago, and back to Omaha. Now to drive home tomorrow! We have family in Omaha, so they were watching my dog.
That was the trip of a lifetime. I'm so grateful that I was able to go to, and have that much fun, and meet the amazing people in our group. It felt like a month, but it was only 11 days. Even though this was an amazing trip, I'm so glad to be back home! I'll never forget that trip. It was truly something special.
Sorry about such a long journal, but there's so much to tell, and I only told a little! Thanks for reading, or at least looking at it! You're awesome!
I can't believe I actually went to Italy! I've never been to another country before, especially one so far away, so this was brand new for me, and kind of scary. But it was so worth it! My parents and I went on an 11 day bus tour though Italy, staying in Rome, Florence, Parma, Bologna, and Venice. The nice thing about booking a bus tour was we didn't have to worry about ANYTHING. Hotels, sight seeing, transportation, tours through places, restaurants, luggage, etc. They took care of everything, so all we had to do was enjoy the trip. -)
Getting there was a pain though. We were supposed to fly from Omaha to Chicago, to Frankfurt, then to Rome. And we were supposed to leave on the 12th (if I remember right). Our actual tour started on the 16th, so those few days before was another short tour to the Pompeii that we planned. Well.......nope.
We got to the airport in Omaha on the 11th, around noon and the first thing we find out was that our flight as cancelled. :| So they put us on a different flight that would leave around 5:00 pm. So we waited. But then weather settled into Chicago, therefore canceling our 5:00 flight. Then our rebooked 7:00 flight. So we didn't leave that day.
So it was like 10:00 pm and we're talking to the ticket counter guy (he was no help) and he said the next flight we found get was on the 15th.....>:( So we had to cancel our Pompeii tour. :(
We finally made it to Rome on the 15th, after about 28 hours of airport time. That night, I realized that in around 48 hours, I had slept only 6 hours (I don't sleep we'll on airplanes).
We spent 3 days in Rome. We saw the Vatican, which was unbelievable! Hahaha, our travel director got us reservations for the Vatican, so when there was a line 12 blocks long, we got to go in first. There's a crazy amount of people in that waiting line!
We also saw the Colosseum. It's incredible to think that over 2000 years ago, Romans were using it like we use our sport stadiums.
Rome was great, but it's a big city. So that means lots of small spaces and too many people.
Then we drove to Florence. We actually stayed in Sienna, but drove to Florence each day. We stayed for 3 days. Our hotel in Sienna was an old hospital in an ancient castle!!!!!!
We toured a winery and tasted wine. I'm 16, so I'm old enough to drink wine over there, but only two glasses at a meal, and if my parents are there. But I have to say, I hate wine. Altogether, throughout the whole trip, I only drank about a half of a glass :/ It's like coffee, just worse. Oh! And I drank espresso too! I hate that too. The only way I'd drink it is if it has like literally 10 sugar packets and half milk. But then there's too much sugar, and it become kind of a sugary mud-like thing, and yeah...... Apparently espresso has the equivalent of like 3 cups of coffee....I don't know.
We ate food. Lots of food. Mainly pasta, fish, and pizza. And every single place we want to had amazing food!
We also ate at an Italian family's home! That was the best part of the whole trip!
Then we drove to Parma. One night. We stopped at Pisa on the way there. I ate pasta. It was awesome.
That night, we went to a place called San Gimingnano, an ancient castle!!!! That was the second best part of the trip! I love medieval things, so visiting a castle, and staying in a castle, was the most amazing thing!
Then to Bologna. One night. I have to say, this was my lease favorite part of our trip. But it was interesting to learn about the city.
Then we finished in Venice. We stayed in a 400 year old hotel for 2 days.
We took a gondola ride though the canals and the Grand Canal! That was so cool!
I had my first taste of American food at the Hard Rock Cafe in Venice. French fries.....;)
We took a water taxi to one of the islands and ate lunch at an amazing restaurant. The houses on that island are the brightest colors! Lime green, pink, sky blue, any color you can think of!
Then we had our farewell dinner, the last dinner on the last night, at a restaurant next door to the hotel. It was great! Fish and pasta!!!
Then yesterday, we flew out of the Venice airport. We flew to Munich, then to Chicago, and back to Omaha. Now to drive home tomorrow! We have family in Omaha, so they were watching my dog.
That was the trip of a lifetime. I'm so grateful that I was able to go to, and have that much fun, and meet the amazing people in our group. It felt like a month, but it was only 11 days. Even though this was an amazing trip, I'm so glad to be back home! I'll never forget that trip. It was truly something special.
Sorry about such a long journal, but there's so much to tell, and I only told a little! Thanks for reading, or at least looking at it! You're awesome!
It sounds like a great trip! Its even better that you had a good time =D
Also, did that hotel/castle look like a castle on the inside? Or did they redo the interior for a hotel?
Inside the hotel? It was remodeled to be a hotel, so it doesn't look like a castle at all inside the hotel. It would have been awesome if it DID look like an old castle inside too!
Inside the hotel? It was remodeled to be a hotel, so it doesn't look like a castle at all inside the hotel. It would have been amazing if it did look like an old castle inside too!